No Strings Attached
by Firewalker711
Summary: This takes place right after the "Buckets," move into the factory. Willy would be more than generous, trying to make up for the selfish way he acted. But the "Buckets," would have a hard time accepting it.


Nearly 48 hours after the Buckets settled into their new home inside of the chocolate room, they were all having breakfast when they heard a knock on the door. Jumping up from the table, Charlie opened the door to find Willy grinning down at him. "Hello, Charlie. . ."

"Hi, Willy. . .Come in."  
"Good morning, Willy." The family chimed out at the same time.  
"Morning. . ." he shyly replied.  
"Are you hungry?" Mrs. Bucket asked, as she brought a plate of bacon to the table.  
"Actually. . .I was wondering, if you guys were busy today?"  
"Aside from a little unpacking. . .not really. Why?"  
"Well. . .Since you're officially settled in, I thought it would be imperative to show you the factory."  
Now he watched as Charlie's parents looked at each other with excited expressions on their faces. Something he inwardly loved to see. Smiling, Mrs. Bucket eagerly nodded. "That sounds great."  
"Good. . ." he nodded, full of enthusiasm.  
"Will it be a tour like the one we had?" Charlie asked.  
"No. . .today I will taking you to the_ living_ section, where I stay. A totally different part of the factory altogether."  
"Oh? Then can I come too?" Grandpa Joe anxiously asked.

Smiling at him Willy nodded, "Of course you can. Since you worked here in the past, you might even remember some of it."  
"Possibly. . .That's what I want to find out."  
"Well great! We have a lot to cover. . .so how bout getting started, hmm?" Just when he was about to stand up, his stomach growled loudly enough to get everyone's attention.

As Willy grinned with some embarrassment, Mrs. Bucket smirked and replied, "How about some breakfast, first?"  
"Yeah. Heh-heh. Good idea. . ."

"The first place on the agenda, is the kitchen. . ." Willy replied an hour later. "I want to show you where all the food is stored."They walked down the long hallway until Willy paused in front of a huge pair of double doors. Glancing toward Grandpa Joe he asked, "Does this look familiar to you?"

"Oh, yes. This is the cafeteria. I remember eating in here plenty of times."  
"Well there's so much more to see, besides the tables and chairs. Follow me. . ."  
As the group now walked through the spacious enclosure, Grandpa Joe's voice echoed.  
"Wow. I forgot how big this place really was. . ."  
"It's even bigger than the one at my school. . ." Charlie exclaimed, as Willy playfully grinned down at him.  
"This would _swallow_ the one at your school. . ." he replied, as they approached another huge set of stainless steel double doors. "And so would this kitchen. . ." He added, as they began to walk through it. "Here is where I invent a lot of my new candy recipes." Looking down at Charlie, he proudly smiled. "And together we'll invent a whole lot more."

"I can't wait. . ." he answered, just as excited as Willy was. At the same time, Mrs. Bucket was completely fascinated by all the different types of mixers, blenders, toasters, and all other kinds of gadgets.

"Oh, my word. . ." she replied, in total awe. "Would you look at all this equipment?"

Leaning a little closer Willy playfully replied. "Yeah. But I must confess. . .that I don't even know what half the stuff is. See that corner over there? That's my own designated spot. There, I have my own pots, pans, utensils and everything. The rest of the stuff hasn't been touched since the cooks left. And that was 15 years ago." he stated, as they looked at him with some disbelief. "But if you have a clue. . .feel free to use anything you see."

Unable to help herself, Mrs. Bucket chuckled. "I honestly wouldn't know how, if I did. . ."  
"Well. . .it would help if you had something to cook. So. . .Why not start with this. . ." he replied, walking up to a tall pair of red double doors. Quickly he opened them and stepped inside to rows and rows of different foods. Ranging from cooking oils, cereal, rice, and flour to canned fruits and vegetables. "Here is where I keep all the dried and canned goods. . ." he said, as the rest of the family now stared at everything in awe. "Because of the mass quantities, everything is alphabetized. So you shouldn't have any problems finding what you need. . ."  
"This is so huge. . ." Charlie replied in awe. Letting out a chuckle, Willy replied,  
"I know. Kinda like a mini mart, huh?" Leaning forward, Mr. Bucket whispered to his wife.

"Yeah. . .but the only difference is that we couldn't afford to go into one. "

Overhearing that statement, Willy's eyes widened with shock, but he didn't say anything. Completely engulfed by a flashback of when he was sitting next to Charlie in the boat, and he offered him a scoop of hot melted chocolate from the river. "_Take this, it'll do you good. You look starved to death!_" For the first time it occurred to Willy, that Charlie indeed was starving. As well as Grandpa Joe and the rest of his family. Only at the time Willy was so wrapped up with his own affairs, that he didn't even notice. Slowly shaking his head, he then crossed the kitchen to another steel door, and undid the latch. "_And_. . .Here is where all the meats are kept." He replied, now stepping into a huge walk in freezer. Motioning for the family to come closer, Willy began pointing things out, "Here I've got chicken, turkey, pork, steaks, roasts, leg of lamb. . .you name it. It's all here and labeled. All you have to do is walk through and choose whatever you want." Completely enthralled, they could do was shake their heads in awe.

"I can't believe it. I've never seen so much meat in all my life. . ." Mr. Bucket replied.

"Heh-heh. Yeah, I know. . ." Willy chuckled. "They got enough to last 50 years."  
"But why so much?" Mrs. Bucket asked out of the blue.

Hesitating, Willy replied, "Well. . .With all the employees that used to work in my factory, I had to make sure they ate well. But when they left I guess. . .I just never thought about getting rid of it. But you don't have to worry. Everything is vacuum packed, so it's still as good as the day I got it." Leaning toward Mrs. Bucket, Willy playfully asked, "Charlie tells me you're a good cook?"

Looking down at her son rather touched, she replied, "Well honestly. . .when you cook the same things over and over you get rather good. But now. . .I won't even know where to start. . ." Feeling rather proud on the inside, Willy smiled and nodded.

"Well, between here. . .and my garden, you'll have plenty of choices." He declared, slamming the door shut.

"You have a garden?" Mr. Bucket chuckled.  
"Oh, yeah. And it's all the way in the back of my factory. Fortunately. . .we'll have to take the great glass elevator to get there." he replied, as Charlie's eyes lit with excitement.

"Oh, boy!"

After some walking, the group approached the elevator at the end of the hall. "Come. . .come. . ." Willy eagerly replied, gesturing the family inside. Looking more at Mrs. Bucket, he grinned. "Might I suggest holding on to the railing. This thing jerks a little. . ."

"A _little?"_ Grandpa Joe mocked, as he chuckled and pressed the button. As it jerked sideways, all Mrs. Bucket could do was giggle and clutch onto her husbands arm in dismay.

This in turn had Willy laughing with her. "What's going through your head?" he humorously asked.  
"Honestly Willy. . .This is almost too much to take in. . ."  
"I agree. . ." Mr. Bucket replied. "Like we'd be inside of a dream, or something."

Sighing, Willy nodded and replied, "Yeah. . .That's how I feel sometimes, too. Every button you see in this elevator, is a room that I dreamed up. A sleepless night of blueprints, and diagrams. There are times when I look at this place, and can't believe that it all came from my head. You know?"  
"But it did, Willy. And you have a lot to be proud of. . ."

Touched over his compliment, Willy nodded, "Thank you. I appreciate that." _Ding._ . . "Ahh. Here we are. ." He announced, as the door slid open to what appeared to be a gigantic greenhouse that was approximately the size of a football field! From where they stood, they could make out rows of corn, tomatoes, carrots, and potatoes, on one side of the enormous glass room. And on the other, were rows of banana, vanilla, cinnamon, and coconut trees. Not to mention cocoa bean and pineapple plants. "You call _this_ a garden?" Mr. Bucket gasped with disbelief. "This is one of the biggest greenhouses I've ever seen in my life!"

"And check out my sunroof." Willy declared, pointing up to the massive glass paned ceiling. "I designed it to where the windows open and close to let the sun shine inside. And whenever it rains, it saves us a day of watering. . ."  
That's when they noticed further off in the back, a line of round huts that hung from the ceiling, and came down to the floor! Narrow little bridges crossed from one hut to the other. And crossing them occasionally were.

"Oompa Loompas? You mean this is where they stay?" Grandpa Joe asked.  
"Oh, yes." Willy quickly answered. "This is the most subtropical part of the factory. So for them, this is closest to their environment that they'll ever get." As they watched, Willy signaled them to come down for a moment. Within minutes, a huge group had gathered around Willy, and the Buckets. Smiling at them he replied,  
"Hey guys. You know Charlie and Grandpa Joe. But I want you meet Mr. and Mrs. Bucket. They are Charlies parents." He stressed, somehow finding it a little easier to say. "They'll be living in the factory from now on. So when you see them, make sure to say _"Hello."_ Ok?" From Willy's request, all the Oompa Loompas looked up at them and quickly crossed their arms against their chests. Giving them a quick nod, they scattered off in different directions and continued working. Shaking his head, Mr. Bucket could only chuckle in bewilderment.

"Gads, Willy. It's like you have everything at your fingertips." Giving him and the family a very proud gaze, Willy smiled and said,

"Well now, you do too. Because everything here is yours. All ya gotta do is just reach out and take it. . ." Now instead of being excited like he thought they would, Willy was rather thrown off by the bothered expressions on their faces.

"Mr. Wonka. . ." Mr. Bucket stammered.  
"No need to be _formal._ . ." Willy, replied with a chuckle. "Just Willy will do. . ."  
"Willy. . .this is so nice of you but. . .you're being far too generous. . ."

_"No,_ I'm not." he quickly cut off. "It's about time it's all put to good use. Besides. . .it'll only go to waste if you don't use it. Right?"

Knowing he had a point, Mr. Bucket sighed heavily. "Right. . ."  
"Good. . .cause now, I've saved the most important part of this tour for last. This way. . ." He replied, quickly walking ahead of Mr. Bucket, before he could say anything else. Stepping off the glass elevator, the Bucket's found themselves standing at the beginning of another hallway. Only this one was a little narrower, with doors on each side. Walking ahead of them, Willy stopped in front of one of the doors and unlocked it. "I think you'll find this _very_ interesting. . ." he replied, now opening it wide enough for them to peek inside. For a minute they were stunned to walk into a spacious enclosure. Starting off with a beautiful livingroom, with a flat screen TV and entertainment center. Next was the kitchen, which to Mrs. Bucket, was one of the most beautiful she'd ever seen. It had lots of cabinet space, an island stove, and a large stainless steel refrigerator.

"Oh, my. . ." she whispered under her breath. "This is amazing. . ."  
"I'll say. . ." Mr. Bucket replied, opening the fridge to peek inside.

Tickled over how thrilled they were, Willy grinned, "If you think that's something. . .Wait until you see this. . ." he replied, opening up a pair of double doors to reveal a huge bedroom with a king sized bed. Just the size of this room alone would swallow their entire house! As Mrs. Bucket let out a stunned scoff, Willy replied, "This is the master bedroom, and they have one other room at the end of the hall. . ." he announced, walking back to the living room. "This door adjoins to another room just on the other side. See?" Willy scooted over just enough to peek at another dwelling that was an exact copy of the one they were standing in! "I designed this so that everyone would have their own space, but still be under the same enclosure. Get the picture?" Closing the door he then added, "Believe it or not. . .the supervisors, who I hired to help run this place, actually lived in here. When I'd go away to take care of business, they'd take over and run it for me. And it worked like a charm, until my recipes started showing up on street corners! After that, I couldn't trust anyone. So I had to let um go."  
"I remember that. It was a sad day. . ." Giving Grandpa Joe a look of sincerity, Willy gently replied,  
"Not for _you._ Because against all odds you're back, and here to stay! Only now, you and your family don't have to be all cramped up in that little house, anymore. Now you can move in here, and have all the space you need. . ."  
Eyes widening, they all looked from themselves back to him with stunned expressions on their faces.  
Thereafter Mr. Bucket slowly began to shake his head. Knowing what was coming Willy's eyes slowly narrowed into an artful peer.

"Is something wrong?"

"Not really. It's just that. . . you're going through so much trouble."

_"Nonsense._ . ." he insisted. "If I don't mind. . .why should you?"  
"Well. . .it's just that. . .all this moving from one place to the other, might you know. . . be hard on the grandparents. Especially grandma Georgina." Out the corner of his eye, Willy noticed the way grandpa Joe glanced at him as though to say, "_It's not true_. . ."

But there was no need. Willy read right through it, but decided to play right along. Leaning on his cane, he replied, "Oh, I see. So you don't want to risk it. Right?"  
Trying to stand with her husband, Mrs. Bucket timidly replied, "Right. . .Sincerely, Willy. We appreciate the offer but. . .I think we're fine the way we are." Out the corner of her eye, she saw her father silently shake his head with disapproval. At the same time, Willy could feel himself growing rather disappointed. Yet he chose to channel it through a lighthearted chuckle. As he slowly shook his head, Mr. Bucket found himself rather amused. "What's so funny?"

"Ya'll are. You guys are a _pip,_ you know that? You remind me of a bird that's trapped inside of a lil cage. After awhile, it gets so used to being cooped up, that when someone tries to set it free. . .it chooses to stay where it is." He deliberately inclined, inwardly bothered over their hurt expressions. Trying to keep it in, Mr. Bucket asked,

"So what exactly are you getting at?" Now for the first time, the playful side of Willy disappeared. Giving him a very serious gaze, he replied,

"I'm _saying._ . .That you've been cooped up for so long, that when something good finally comes without any boundaries, it intimidates you. . .and you back right up. . ." Sighing heavily, Mr. Bucket shook his head.

"It's more than that, Willy. Yes, I'll admit that this is a lot to adjust to. But the fact is, we. . .just don't deserve it."  
he replied, as Willy sighed and gazed up at the ceiling. "You worked very hard to get to where you are. And we have no right to take it from you."

Fighting very hard not to show his frustration, Willy quickly nodded. "Ok. . .So. . .what am I supposed to do with it? Hmm? Keep it all to myself, and become some old _miser_ that everyones gonna hate? No. I don't think so." He adamantly declared. "I mean. . .what's the point in having it all. . .if I can't _share_ it with anyone?" By the deeply touched expressions on their faces, Willy suddenly realized what he'd confessed from his heart. This in turn had him looking away rather regretfully. "Look. . .The bottom line is I know was a _jerk_ in the beginning. And I'm trying to make up for it, now. I may have given Charlie this factory, but it's _your_ home too." he gently declared, "So. . .if you want to stay in your little house, that's your call. But the one thing I'll guarantee is that you'll never be without income or food again. _Ever._ So. . . you're just gonna have to _deal_ with that." Through their silence, Willy noticed the tears gleaming in Mrs. Buckets eyes. Then before he knew what was happening, she reached forward until she was hugging him tightly. Giving him a light kiss on the cheek, she pulled away to see the deeply stirred expression on his face. "How can we ever thank you. . ."

Completely thrown off by her loving display of gratitude, Willy swallowed down a lump in his throat. Smiling down at her, he whispered. "By simply taking it. . ." Looking toward Mr. Bucket, Willy added, "With_ no_ strings attached. Ok?"

Realizing how deeply sincere Willy was, Mr. Bucket smiled and nodded. "Ok. . ." He replied.

Tickled that he finally accepted, Willy quickly reached out and began shaking his hand in a wild manner. "Well, _Ok!"_He happily exclaimed, as the others began to chuckle. As they headed back to the elevator, Willy heard Grandpa Joe mutter in a low voice.

"It's a miracle, you know. We must be the luckiest people on the face of the earth. . ."

Smiling to himself, Willy gave the family a look of sincere regard, knowing deep down on the inside how he was really starting to feel about them. "Not as much as_ I_ am. . ." he whispered to himself.


End file.
